Playing piano from chords

Why Use Chords? - Making Chords - How to Use Chords

Why Use Chords?

Playing from chords allows the player to follow the right harmony while still retaining flexibility. It is easier to read than having every part of your accom paniment for example having to be read and followed separately.

Although you may think music is written esactly it is written in overall mathematical proportions as to timing in most kinds of music this is only a guide. waiting to be interpreted.

This is another reason why classical players play from memory. There is less to think about and get in the way. So the pianist can apply the feeling and meaning to the music more directly.

Freedom of Arrangement

Following a top line and chords in the hands of an experienced player allows him or her to experiment with new ways of playing a piece, particularly if a familiar one.

Adapting a tune to a new style of playing, a dufferent dance tempo, or from swing to tango for exmple, is possible only if you are not having to play exact notes grounded in the original arrangement.

And the many ways you can interpret a chord either as a very variable arpeggio or with the notes divided between the hands in difffferent octaves of the piano creates many different and rich harmonious effects.

And if you are playing from a basic score they will often sound very bad and boring unless improved by someone seeing the inherent possibilities of the chord sequences.

Improving Music Reading

Even if you are reading a score and it is very thoroughly thought out being able to recognise the chords, possibly disguised in the score, aids fluent reading if you are playing something very literally.

A knowledge of the relationship between scales and the chords built on therm will help you anticipate what kind of chords they are likely to be. For example in a major key, the only ones which will be msjor are the main chords, built on the key note, the fourth and the fifth scale, all else will be minor unless delibeerately modified.

The one on the seventh note is literally a diminished chord but is more likely to be just found as the top part of the main seventh chord, the dominant 7th built on the fifth of the scale.

It is a matter of checking out what is happening in the score as compared with the most likely version!